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Bayliss puts onus on batsmen to square the series
Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss on Wednesday called his batsmen to put enough runs on the board to make India capitulate under the pressure.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: December 23, 2009 01:05 PM IST
Read Time:3 min
Kolkata:
The visitors have batted superbly in the series but the dramatic batting collapse in the third ODI match at Cuttack cost them dearly as India overhauled the easy 240-run target to run away with a 2-1 lead.
"In the last game, probably for the first time in the series, we did not bat well. We did not score enough runs. If we had scored in an excess of 300, which we we were looking at one stage of the match, we would have had a fair chance of winning that match.
"So we have to get back to scoring runs so that we can put pressure on the opposition. It does not matter what team you are. If you are under pressure, you will lose wickets. Good side make their own luck. I don't think there would be any different," Bayliss said after the practice session.
On being asked if absence of Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni would give Sri Lanka any advantage, Bayliss replied in a no.
"They are two world class players. But with younger players coming into the team will give them an energy and they will be trying their best to cement their spot in the team. From an effort point of view, I dont think there is any difference," he said.
Bayliss said while India missed just two players, they were dealing with absence of five players.
Muttiah Muralitharan and medium-pacer Dilhara Fernando were earlier sent home with finger injuries while just before the Cuttack ODI in-form all-rounder Angelo Mathews pulled out after straining his quadriceps muscle.
Sri Lankan squad was already plagued by injuries to its bowlers Thilan Thushara and Dammika Prasad.
Mahela Jayawardene has not contributed much with the bat so far but Bayliss did not agree that his form had dipped.
"Certainly our top three scored a lot of runs in the one-day series. It normally happens with all the teams, if the top-order batsmen are scoring runs then the guys down the order don't get to do a lot of batting.
"He (Mahela) is out of runs but I don't think he is out of form. He is hitting the ball well. As we saw in the Test matches, he is a world class player, I don't think it would be long before we put up our best show," he said.
The Australian said dew would be a factor but more than anything it was performance with the bat and ball which matters the most.
"Yes it obviously is a factor. But if you score enough runs batting first, you put a lot of pressure. It does not matter if there is dew or not.
"The simple fact, if you bat first or bowl first, you got to do well in the respective departments. If you are not good in either of those, then you are in danger of losing the game against India," he said.
Their survival in the series depending on the outcome of Thursday's clash, Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss on Wednesday called his batsmen to put enough runs on the board to make India capitulate under the pressure.The visitors have batted superbly in the series but the dramatic batting collapse in the third ODI match at Cuttack cost them dearly as India overhauled the easy 240-run target to run away with a 2-1 lead.
"In the last game, probably for the first time in the series, we did not bat well. We did not score enough runs. If we had scored in an excess of 300, which we we were looking at one stage of the match, we would have had a fair chance of winning that match.
"So we have to get back to scoring runs so that we can put pressure on the opposition. It does not matter what team you are. If you are under pressure, you will lose wickets. Good side make their own luck. I don't think there would be any different," Bayliss said after the practice session.
On being asked if absence of Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni would give Sri Lanka any advantage, Bayliss replied in a no.
"They are two world class players. But with younger players coming into the team will give them an energy and they will be trying their best to cement their spot in the team. From an effort point of view, I dont think there is any difference," he said.
Bayliss said while India missed just two players, they were dealing with absence of five players.
Muttiah Muralitharan and medium-pacer Dilhara Fernando were earlier sent home with finger injuries while just before the Cuttack ODI in-form all-rounder Angelo Mathews pulled out after straining his quadriceps muscle.
Sri Lankan squad was already plagued by injuries to its bowlers Thilan Thushara and Dammika Prasad.
Mahela Jayawardene has not contributed much with the bat so far but Bayliss did not agree that his form had dipped.
"Certainly our top three scored a lot of runs in the one-day series. It normally happens with all the teams, if the top-order batsmen are scoring runs then the guys down the order don't get to do a lot of batting.
"He (Mahela) is out of runs but I don't think he is out of form. He is hitting the ball well. As we saw in the Test matches, he is a world class player, I don't think it would be long before we put up our best show," he said.
The Australian said dew would be a factor but more than anything it was performance with the bat and ball which matters the most.
"Yes it obviously is a factor. But if you score enough runs batting first, you put a lot of pressure. It does not matter if there is dew or not.
"The simple fact, if you bat first or bowl first, you got to do well in the respective departments. If you are not good in either of those, then you are in danger of losing the game against India," he said.
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